HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Gov. Robert Bentley took a lot of pride in being present for Boeing's 50th anniversary in Alabama celebration. Before lauding the aerospace giant for its half-century of success and its contributions to Alabama and Huntville, Bentley revealed his own early fascination with space.

Bentley said he was a freshman majoring in aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama when Boeing first came to Huntsville in 1962. Though he soon changed his career goals to medicine, he said the love of space he had in his youth has never left.

"I still have that interest in space travel and rocketry," the governor said, and recalled that he was inspired by Pres. Kennedy's 1961 speech that challenged America to put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.

Bentley praised the "strong partnership" between Boeing and the State of Alabama, and proclaimed Monday, April 30, as Boeing in Alabama Day. April 30 marked the official 50th anniversary of the Huntsville operations.

Speaking for the city, Battle said Boeing's history over the past 50 years closely resembles the history of the city itself. "Boeing has written a lot of Huntsville history," he said, "and I expect Boeing will impact our history for the next 50 years."

Boeing employs more than 2600 employees in Alabama and is the state's largest aerospace employer. Many current and retired Boeing employees were on hand for the celebration.

Dennis Mullenberg, President of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, echoed Bentley and Battle's enthusiasm. "Few things have been more amazing than what we've done in human space flight."

Brooks commended Boeing for its many contributions to "American Exceptionalism," citing the company's development of the Saturn S-1C first stage and technical integration work on the Saturn program, its development of the first Lunar Rover, and more recent programs such as International Space Station and Ground-based, Midcourse Defense (GMD),

"When you think about exceptionalism, you have to think about Boeing," Brooks said.

A video prepared for the 50th anniversary presented a history of Boeing in Huntsville, including the use of the old Twickenham Hotel as the original office space.

Boeing Site Executive Tony Jones said it was a time of "slide rules, dial telephones, and typewriters," years before personal computers had been invented.

Boeing in Huntsville saw business ebb and flow over the years, Jones said. Following the end of the Saturn program in the early 1970s, Boeing engineers developed a Modeling and Simulation capability enhanced by the 1980 transfer to Huntsville of Boeing's Automated Test Systems (ATS) group from Wichita, Kansas.

The company extablished a Simulations and Training Systems group in 1985, which led to the design and development of simulators for the B-IB bomber, the KC-135 tanker, and the AWACS surveillance aircraft.

Another major milestone came in 1985 when Boeing purchased a large tract just south of the Huntsville International Airport and built its Jetplex facility, which houses the bulk of Boeing's Huntsville workforce.

In 1987 Boeing won the contract for the design, development and manufacture of the habitation modules, laboratory facilities, and connecting nodes for the International Space Station.

1998 began the company's involvement with the GMD program, designed to protect the U.S. from ballistic missile attack. Boeing recently won the GMD Development and Design contract, which ensures its involvement in missile defense program for years to come.

As the 50th anniversary approached in late 2011 the Huntsville office was awarded a NASA contract for Space Launch System cryogenic stages and avionics. SLS will transport humans beyond low Earth orbit for exploration and scientific pursuits.